Thread by @CharlesBHolmes

7 of every 10 new COVID-19 cases are now in red states. While the early pandemic mostly affected blue states because of travel and demographic characteristics, Trump’s denial of basic science is to blame for most of these new cases (and the deaths that will surely follow)

Thread

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1301603944708349956

Views on mask use and other basic public health interventions are now driven by politics. Shockingly, even America’s massive death toll is a partisan issue. More than half of Republicans say the number of fatalities from COVID-19 is “acceptable” (2/6)

today.yougov.com/topics/politic…

186,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19. That's as many U.S. deaths in 9 months as lung & colorectal cancer claim in an entire year. By the end of the year this figure could reach 300,000. That’s more than all the U.S. servicemember battle deaths in WWII. (3/6)

The human costs go far beyond the death toll. On any given day since June, an avg of 42,714 Americans have been hospitalized with COVID. That’s tens of thousands of Americans separated from loved ones due to visitor restrictions. Countless workers who can’t earn a paycheck. (4/6)

It’s also expensive. The avg U.S. hospital charges $38,000-$73,000 per COVID patient. With most COVID admissions lasting 10-14 days, that’s billions in added costs that will ultimately reach patients in the form of higher insurance premiums in years ahead (5/6)

In short, there's nothing acceptable about the cost of this virus. Stopping COVID cannot be a partisan issue. But for this administration, coronavirus will always be about protecting Trump’s image. For the sake of Americans in red & blue states, we need new leadership- stat (6/6)